


도원경

by jeodoboleo



Category: K-pop, VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Historical, Hand Jobs, M/M, Porn With Plot, Shangri-la, Spirits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-06 04:45:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11028894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeodoboleo/pseuds/jeodoboleo
Summary: a peach and cherry blossom paradise





	1. 아름답고

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hongbab](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hongbab/gifts).



sanghyuk wipes the sweat rolling down his temples with the back of his hand, reaching over his head to strap his bow against his back before nimbly climbing to the crook of the large branch that jutted out from the peach tree, relaxing against its strong trunk. he's found the juiciest most beautiful peach he's ever seen during his daily trip to the forest; its skin soft and pink and unblemished. he had to have it.

he hasn't seen a single animal out today, and the sun was at its peak, beating down mercilessly against sanghyuk's back and he knows there must be a burn that's started to spread over his neck and the tops of his shoulders, the skin tender against the tree's bark.

weather like this would've had the wildlife come out droves, especially after the monsoon season when the earth was moist and fertile, but it was near stalk still. only the sound of the wind rustling the blossoms of the cherry trees and and the birds hidden far up on the tops of its branches to provide any sign of life.

he lets the breeze cool the sweat on his skin, soft petals falling onto his hair and face like the touch of someone from a distant memory, making the air fragrant with their scent. he sat with one leg outstretched across the tree limb as the other lazed out over the edge; dangling without a care. sanghyuk's lips barely brush against the fuzzy skin of his peach when he hears a disturbance in the underbrush not too far away. it startles him out of his reverie, the fruit in hand slipping from his fingers and falling with a thud to the ground beneath him.

the sprinkling of cherry blossoms doesn't break its fall and sanghyuk hisses out a curse, but the animal simply pops out from the lush greenery on high alert, ears swivelling. the wind ripples the pond and the fallen flowers coating its surface, and sanghyuk freezes, trying to focus over the deepness of his breath and the thudding of his heart in his body. it's a fawn; sanghyuk notes, its long, almost pointed ears and graceful neck, though it's not like any deer he has seen in these forests before.

most are large and the colour of earth after a heavy rainfall but this one was smaller and more slender, just barely visible over the tops of the ferns, and as sanghyuk gets up to sit on his haunches, eyes focused on his target and moving slowly to retrieve his bow, it's fur glints gold in the sunlight. it's simply ethereal. sanghyuk smiles to himself, it looks like he's is lucky for the second time that day.

he takes a deep breath, steadying the bow against his cheek, trying to dampen the excitement that makes his hands shake. he aims, for the fawn's neck as it leans down to drink from small pond, where a single blow will kill it instantly, and lets his arrow go. with the just there whisper of his quiver, the arrow slices silently through the air and into the golden fur of the deer. it falls with a strangled cry and doesn't even attempt to scramble up to its feet to get away, remaining motionless.

sanghyuk quickly puts his bow back into its sheath and hops down from his perch, springing up quickly on the balls of his feet to absorb the shock from his ankles before jogging over to where the deer had been slain. as he nears the pond and wades his way through the reeds, he doesn't see the deer there.

instead, a person lies in its place.

his stomach lurches violently, and he almost retches, even though there was nothing in his stomach.

he might have killed someone and he can't even get his body to move, to respond to his brain that's screaming at sanghyuk to aid the man on the ground, his arrow pierced cleanly through his neck. he collapses helplessly beside the man, feeling feverishly hot and icy in the warm summer air all at once, head spinning. it's when he places gentle, tentative fingers to the person's neck that their lashes flutter, eyes opening before they focus on him.

sanghyuk snatches his hands like he's been burned at that, relieved that the man is alive, but in disbelief that he survived. not a single drop of blood had been spilled, the skin around the entry of the arrow in his skin not even the slightest bit irritated. a complete and utter miracle.

"why did you try and kill me?" the man says, voice soft but devoid of any anger, or even a sign of struggle. instead, he looks almost... peaceful. "i-" sanghyuk's brain stutters, "i did not- i mean- how are you? alive?"

it's when the person pulls the arrow from cleanly from his neck and sits up, drawing his clothes around him that sanghyuk better takes in what he's seeing in front of him. he looks young; with golden hair and skin still dewy and soft, but he's pale like he's never worked a day in his life, his knuckles blushed as he clutches his silken pink robe tighter around his bare torso; reminding sanghyuk of the peach he plucked from the tree just moments earlier.

the man simply smiles at him, like sanghyuk was something fascinating, his head titling to the side. if sanghyuk wasn't still in a state of shock, he'd find it quite cute.

"i was in that tree over there," sanghyuk says, jabbing his thumb behind him in the direction of the peach tree, "and i saw a deer so i shot at it with my arrow, but then i come over to it and," sanghyuk still can't comprehend what his eyes are seeing, "you are here instead. i am so sorry. i did not mean to hurt you."

and then the man laughs, a gentle twinkling laugh that robs sanghyuk of his any words that were left on his tongue.

"do not fret," the man says, shifting onto his knees and sitting on his haunches, "i am not human, and that is why i am uninjured."

"not human? how- how is that even possible? you look human to me?"

"i am the spirit of the forest and i have seen you come here many a times. looks like becoming a deer was not the best choice now was it?" the man laughs again, eyes crinkling sweetly, and sanghyuk feels the earth start to spin; he really must be dreaming.

 

❀❀❀  
  
  


when sanghyuk comes to, he finds he's deep in the forest, far from any place he has ever been through on his daily travels in search of game. the greenery is denser, lusher, its scent even more intoxicatingly pungent than the small grove of cherry trees he lazes about it. he sits up against the trunk of a tree, far wider than his back, maybe four times wider even; his palms cushioned against soft moss near its roots. sanghyuk remembers what happened, and it's sudden, he doesn't even remember what time it is let alone the day. the canopy above him is too thick to let any sunlight in. he looks down, to his right, and there he is the man - the spirit, so he says - dozing quietly beside him.

his back is to sanghyuk, and he can't help but follow the curve of the man's shoulder to where part of his back is bared to him, the inklings of what looks like a tattoo peeking out from his robe. it's like a soft flush that has started to creep over his skin, and sanghyuk reaches out to touch it unknowingly, entranced, but then the man turns around and blinks up at him; eyes surprisingly clear.

"ah, you're awake," he smiles, "i apologize for giving you such a fright. i should have just approached you in my main form."

for how seemingly confident and articulate the other had seemed, his eyes lower from sanghyuk's gaze like he's shy, and that beautiful blush covers the bridge of his nose and cheeks now - like he had been drinking soju laced with the flowers of the forest.

sanghyuk had so many questions. he really couldn't help the magnetic attraction the other had, it just felt too surreal; like he was floating through a dream and was watching himself, dissociative, and he needed some solid answers so he can bring himself back to earth.

"what do you mean main form? what are you exactly? i am confused and distraught and i have so many things to ask you-"

"shhh," the man said, placing a warm hand on his knee, his index and ring finger glinted with silver, "it is alright, all your questions shall be answered."

he tilts his head again, "what would you like to know?"

the man's easy going-ness made sanghyuk feel uneasy, and urgent, like some unknown force was rushing him to get far, far, away from here. like the Gods were giving him a sign he would be cursed if he weren't careful.

he honestly didn't know where to start first, so he started with a sheepish, "everything?"

his initial shock and curiosity has dissipated to leave his face feeling he had been out in the sun too long, which makes the other hide a small smile with the back of his hand; almost coy.

sanghyuk finds that despite the churning in his gut, making the spirit smile was addictive, and it made him grin as well, "how about we both go back to my home, and you can tell me your story there?"

the man's - spirit; sanghyuk to remind himself, as ridiculous as it sounds - eyes light up at that, almost in child-like glee, but then they grow sad, like an ember dying in a dampened fire, "that sounds wonderful, but i must not leave the forest," he wrings his fingers together, "i am it's protector."

"a little while would not hurt, would it?" the spirit looks up from his lap, "i suppose."

sanghyuk stands, legs feeling stiff and numb from lack of circulation. he shakes them out slightly before extending a hand towards the other, "come, it is not too far from here."

the spirit's hand closes around his fingers, the first touch of bare skin, and he feels warm. he was as soft as he looked, and sanghyuk didn't exactly have any other experience with other spirits to know how they felt, but he had not expected him to feel as so... human.

it is once they reach the outskirts of the forest, the trees thinning out to a clearing where a dirt road leading to a village in the distance, the scene absolutely picturesque; the hunter-green and grey coloured roofs visible even from this distance, the tiles layered like scales, the blue sky it's backdrop with the sun high and bright overhead.

sanghyuk looks over at jaehwan, and asking the other to join him in this moment was so worth the look on his face. a strange sort of affection washed over him at jaehwan's wide-eyed wonderment and slack mouth, clearly never have left his home of the forest before.

taking the spirit down into his village was far harder than he thought. it was like telling a puppy or small child trailing behind you to follow, only to inevitably wait up for them as they found something new to marvel at, and the other was no better. nearly getting trampled by a cart, eating food straight from the roadside markets without paying for them (sanghyuk having to scramble to the pouch on his waist for the few coins he had to pay the merchant before turning to scold the full-cheeked spirit, munching away on whatever he put in his mouth), and several pats to stray animals' heads had them both finally, safely, in sanghyuk's home.

sanghyuk lived alone, for several years now, having left his family for living the a life of a nomad and traveling his way around the world. the spirit was one of the few visitors to his house, and it felt alien to have the presence of another in a space that grew to be so personal to him.

it's when sanghyuk is steeping tea, made of the cherry blossoms of the spirit's forest, and watching the dried petals bleed pink into the water that he remembers he never asked the spirit's name.

sanghyuk joins the spirt on the floor by the table, the other sucking the remnants of a sweet off his fingers.

"is there a name i can call you by?" the other blinks up at him, thumb between his lips, "jaehwan. what is your name? also what is this? it is wonderful. i want more."

"i am not exactly sure, i think it is a sticky bun of sorts," sanghyuk replies, the shine of honey on jaehwan's lips distracting, "but i will get you some more. i promise."

jaehwan grins happily.

  
it's when the silence grows between them that sanghyuk answers him, "sanghyuk; my name is han sanghyuk."

  
  
❀❀❀

   
  
it has been almost a month, and jaehwan was still with him. sanghyuk knows because despite the days blending together, nature will never lie. the sweet scent of cherry blossoms has turned pungent with the heat of the summer sun, leaves slowly replacing the silky pink petals to make way for cherries. soon the forest's trees will be laden with fruit.

sanghyuk made due with the pelts he had prepared from summers ago, but he knew that soon he had to make a trip back into the forest again, it was far overdue.

each day sanghyuk had asked jaehwan if he wanted sanghyuk to take him back to the forest even though it pained him to do so, like someone's fingers had wrapped around his throat and squeezed until tears sprung to his eyes, even though jaehwan's body showed no signs of budging; an uncertainty in his gaze. even though it wasn't his place to tell jaehwan that living amongst humans was not good for him, or for the forest, but he felt selfish for not convincing jaehwan to go back. and each day sanghyuk had nodded without a word, when jaehwan asked to stay.

he felt selfish, guilty even, but having jaehwan wake up next to him every morning made those feelings dissipate.

  
  
❀❀❀  
  
  


when the sun had set down deep into the horizon, bringing out the first stars into the sky, sanghyuk joined jaehwan in bed, lifting the worn cotton sheet over them both.

jaehwan immediately shifted closer into his warmth, even though sanghyuk was covered in a layer of sweat from the heat of the day and jaehwan would no doubt kick the sheet off them in the night, he craved the affection and touch and sanghyuk knew that. though today, jaehwan's seemed troubled as he looked up at him, chin against his chest and holding sanghyuk against him, his eyes moist.

he blinked quickly like he was on the verge of crying, so sanghyuk shushed him softly with a clammy palm against his cheek.

"i don't want to go," jaehwan whispers, voice cracking. a tear rolls down his cheek and onto his cupid's bow.

"go?" sanghyuk brushes the pad of his thumb over jaehwan's upper lip, and the older's mouth quivers, "go where?"

"back. to the forest," sanghyuk can tell jaehwan is trying to fight the tears escaping him, biting his lip so harshly it goes from soft rose to lily white, "i must...but... i want to be here. with you."

sanghyuk can't bear to look at him, cradling jaehwan's head against his chest and looking up at the ceiling. the roof tiles swim before him as tears spring forth, and jaehwan heaves a sob into him, "i-i have been s-so lonely."

he closes his eyes, pets jaehwan's soft brown hair, "then stay."

sanghyuk lay awake deep into the night, when even the sounds of the cicadas outside had quietened to a low buzz. jaehwan had fallen asleep in his hold, cried out and exhausted, sanghyuk still petting his head until he realizes he's still doing so and stops.

sanghyuk sighs, sleep pulling at his eyelids. it's been so long, and sanghyuk still doesn't know anything about the spirit in his embrace.

all questions shall be revealed in time, he supposes, letting his eyes close.  
  
  


❀❀❀


	2. 따뜻했고

sanghyuk wakes from a dreamless night to jaehwan lying next to him, eyes open and unwavering like he had been watching him for a little while now. "i was born from the forest," jaehwan says softly.

sanghyuk blinks at him, feeling confused as to why jaehwan was suddenly saying this but he nodded for him to continue, brushing a strand of hair behind jaehwan's ear before tracing the shell of it with a sluggish caress.

jaehwan takes a breath as if to steady his voice, like he was preparing to lay himself out bare to sanghyuk's eyes, "i came from the first seed of that forest. that peach tree you like to sit in," he smiles, eyes crinkling sweetly again like the first day they had met, "i grow along with that forest. i am probably a few hundred years old now."

jaehwan isn't looking at him anymore, eyes downcast and lashes fanned dark over the tops of his cheeks, and so sanghyuk gently tips his chin up to meet his eyes. "and i'm lonely," jaehwan breathes, an echo from last night.

"you will always have me," sanghyuk says, "you'll never be alone anymore."

jaehwan looks at him with parted lips and such hope in his wide eyes that sanghyuk wants to kiss him. its only a touch of lips and jaehwan gasps, a gentle sound that makes sanghyuk's stomach tighten.

"is this ok? for me to kiss you?" sanghyuk doesn't know if jaehwan has been kissed before, if he even knows what it is, but he'd never do anything the older didn't want.

jaehwan's breath is starting to stutter and sanghyuk can feel it against his mouth, "y-yes."

sanghyuk rolls them over until jaehwan's under him, sweet and open and hair mussed against the sheets, and sanghyuk kisses him deeper until jaehwan positively melts into him. his lips are softer and silkier than sanghyuk could have ever imagined, tasting like concentrated peach nectar and it makes his skin prickle with want. its when jaehwan is gripping so tightly onto sanghyuk's top that it stretches dangerously tight across his back, that he pulls away despite wanting to never stop kissing the older.

"i've seen humans doing this before, it was... eerily fascinating?" jaehwan giggles airily, lips swollen and cheeks blushed more than he's ever seen and sanghyuk nearly leans in for more, choosing to kiss at the skin under his jaw instead, "it's really nice..."

sanghyuk smiles against him, rubbing his nose along jaehwan's throat, it was just so innocently endearing he squeezed the older tighter.

"i did not know what it was," jaehwan says, and it tickles sanghyuk's lips, "but i felt something when i first saw you come into the forest even though humans like you have come before. one time-"

he breaks off, like he was deep in thought and was re-imaging the scene before him, "one time i saw two of them... kissing... and i was curious. i hide behind a tree and watched them, and they started taking off their clothes and... it felt like i was intruding on something so i ran back to the pond."

sanghyuk laughs, so loudly it startles jaehwan, jostling him slightly in sanghyuk's arms and the older knocks him on the head, and the pout in his voice only seems to make sanghyuk laugh harder, affectionate, "what is so _funny_."

"nothing," sanghyuk laughs, airily, and it causes jaehwan to shiver at the warmth of his breath.

jaehwan has lived for a few hundred years but has he ever been loved, or kissed, or felt a caring or lustful touch?

he rolls them over, lethargy no longer in his limbs and senses on overdrive, "do you want to know what it is like? what those humans did in the forest."

sanghyuk's own boldness made him bite his lip, heat spreading throughout his body like a fire, but jaehwan's curiosity pushed him over the edge until he was tumbling into shamelessness.

jaehwan nods, and sanghyuk's heart _pounds_ , he's sure jaehwan can hear it from their close proximity and the calm of dawn but he shows no signs of knowing, blinking slowly up at him.

"when you like someone," sanghyuk starts, swallowing thickly, "...love someone, you kiss them and have sex with them sometimes. make them feel good and," sanghyuk closes his eyes for a moment, he knows jaehwan must hear his heart now, "become closer to them."

"i want that," jaehwan says, louder than anything he's said since sanghyuk awoke, a glint of something like want and determination in his eyes, "i want to be closer to you."

sanghyuk stares at him for a beat, wondering how he got himself into all this, he's truly fallen in love and still falling, tumbling, and crashing into jaehwan's deep eyes and plush lips and the way he smiles with his whole heart.

this time it's jaehwan who asks for the kiss, pressing his lips to the corner of sanghyuk's mouth with a whine that starts sanghyuk into action; capturing jaehwan's bottom lip between his teeth. in that same motion sanghyuk reaches between jaehwan's legs and between the folds of his robes - sanghyuk's robes, large and draping over his small frame, and sanghyuk certainly didn't mind that the spirit now smelled more like him - to touch him gently.

jaehwan was already half-hard and leaking, and he bucked into sanghyuk's hand at the foreign feeling, and sanghyuk, not expecting such a visceral reaction, had to put a hand onto jaehwan's hip and press him down into the mattress.

gently, still, he kisses up jaehwan's throat before leaving a final one on the point of his chin, jaehwan breathless all the while; digging his fingers harshly into sanghyuk's shoulders as he wraps fingers around him. he's unable to tear his eyes away, as is the spirit, as if hypnotized, transfixed - by the other's reactions and sounds and energy.

"is this ok?" sanghyuk asks again, and its only now that he realizes that jaehwan's thighs have clamped around his hand, trapping him in place from neither moving closer nor further away.

"p-please," jaehwan says, and sanghyuk can't deny him.

the spirit is so human in the way he writhes beneath sanghyuk, precome making sanghyuk's hand slick as he strokes him, and it starts a fire in sanghyuk's heart that only grows stronger with jaehwan's whimpers. it's as if he's afraid, jaehwan's lower lip bitten red between his teeth, trying suppress the sounds he can't seem to stop and sanghyuk wants to laugh - if only to expel the flames that now start to burn him. instead he releases jaehwan's lip from his teeth with the pad of his thumb, kissing the indentations gently, freeing his voice.

"please, sanghyuk, i-" it's said so quietly sanghyuk almost didn't hear it, but how can he not when the other was asking him so sweetly, with all the new-found lust and want in him bringing tears to his eyes.

sanghyuk aches, hard and near squirming to relieve the almost painful pressure building inside him like a kettle about to boil over. but then jaehwan cries out, the side of his face pressed hard into the mattress and his whole body curling like he didn't know what to do with himself, releasing all over sanghyuk's hand and his own lower belly.

jaehwan's eyes flutter sleepily, content, and he's smiling. his cheeks and ears are flushed pink under the peach tone of his skin, and he's looking at sanghyuk like he knows nothing else -

"thank you."

\- and it's so beautiful that sanghyuk wants to stay in this moment forever.

 

❀❀❀

 

when sanghyuk returns after a quick visit to the market, he's met with a sight he'd never thought he'd see, would never want to see _ever_.

jaehwan was on the ground, no more than a few steps away from the cot they slept on, lying motionless. it was like seeing jaehwan again after he had shot him, the scene replaying in his mind and the world spins before sanghyuk's eyes. he feels faint, legs not cooperating as he treads carefully to jaehwan's side, still unbelieving, hoping, that the terrible thoughts whirring through sanghyuk's head really are absurd and jaehwan is just fine. that jaehwan was just resting.

he reaches a shaky hand to jaehwan's exposed wrist, hand curled limply by his side. he feels a pulse, but it's weak, and sanghyuk doesn't know what to do.

he shifts so that he sits on his heels, parallel to jaehwan's body so that he rest the other's head on his lap, gently tapping his fingers against his cheek in hopes of waking him.

"jaehwan-ah," sanghyuk voice breaks, no matter how hard he's trying to keep calm, "wake up. please."

a breath, and jaehwan moves. when jaehwan's eyes open, slowly as if it pains him, sanghyuk lets out a sigh of relief that releases the tightness surrounding him, leaving him slumped over jaehwan's still body.

jaehwan's eyes look glassy and unfocused, his complexion pallor, cheeks burning under sanghyuk's palms in a way that only a fever would. but jaehwan isn't human. he can't go to the local market and pick up herbs to make him better, he can't risk it. every moment is precious.

the spirit reaches a hand up to sanghyuk, cupping his face and sanghyuk leans into it, holding jaehwan's hand close to him even though he knows jaehwan isn't going anywhere, especially not like this.

"i am dying sanghyuk," jaehwan says hoarsely, "there is something wrong with the forest. i should have never left."

jaehwan's fingers curl in his grip, his eyes closing. a tear escapes from his eye, his pale lips quivering.

his eyes open again, his gaze suddenly seeming more focused but he looks as broken as ever, "but then i would have never gotten the chance to... love you... that in itself is something i would sacrifice myself for. but the animals do not deserve this. it is all my fault."

"it is not," sanghyuk assures him, kissing jaehwan's palm and rubbing soothing circles into the back of his hand, still held between his. _it is my fault_ , sanghyuk wants to say, the guilt starting to creep up from the pit of his stomach like some ugly and disgusting disease, closing up his throat, _i am the one who coerced you into coming with me, i took you away from your home and kept you_.

"sanghyuk," jaehwan says, and despite his body feeling weak from shock, he gathers all the strength in his arms to hold jaehwan close, to hear the slow beating of his heart and feel the warmth of his breath. alive.

"sanghyukkie, you may have shot me that day but," jaehwan smiles, a small one that sanghyuk knows he's trying to make reach his eyes but he's simply too tired to, "long before then you have captured my heart and held it prisoner. i have wanted to know more about you and be with you, and that day it took courage for me to even be near you. i have heard humans say this before and i- i love you. i know in my heart that this is what love is and-"

sanghyuk's eyes prickle painfully.

"-i love you."

in return, sanghyuk says nothing, even with jaehwan looking at him for an answer, his lips stay pressed together in a hard line even though words are escaping him. instead he helps jaehwan stand, wrapping an arm around his waist to steady the other on his legs, though that does little to help and jaehwan's knees buckle. sanghyuk then arranges jaehwan carefully so that he's draped over his back, sanghyuk's hands under jaehwan's thighs to support him.

"i am taking you back."

this time, it's jaehwan that says nothing in return, but as sanghyuk turns back to gauge his expression, there is nothing but trust and love in those eyes.

 

❀❀❀

 

sanghyuk trudges up the path he's walked so many times before he knows it like the back of his hand, and even though jaehwan was not the lightest in any sort, the dread that seemed to loom over them both weighed sanghyuk down even farther. his muscles were starting to ache, his legs moving like he was walking through quicksand rather than on a hard, dirt road, and jaehwan's presence on his back seemed to get heavier. his breaths on sanghyuk's neck shallower.

he pushes through the screaming pain in his thighs and feet for him to stop, until he falls to his knees at the forest edge, defeated at the horrific state of the once ethereal and peaceful forest. he almost wanted to turn back so jaehwan didn't have to see, but it was clear he was already too late when a choked gasp was muffled into his neck.

"n-no, it can't be," jaehwan whimpers.

the forest was engulfed in fire.

the air was thick and acrid with black smoke, the flames high and growing by the second, it was a sick, almost mocking contrast to the perfectly blue and clear sky above them. the air was unbearably hot, but jaehwan chilled him to the bone, silent and unmoving behind him.

he laid the spirit gently onto the ground. it was getting harder to breathe; it stung his eyes and pushed hard onto sanghyuk's chest like he'd gotten knocked onto the ground. but jaehwan was there, looking like he was desperately holding back a sob that was clawing it's way out of him, and suddenly sanghyuk couldn't stop the tears that started to stream down his cheeks faster than he could wipe them away. even still jaehwan was there, shakily wiping at his eyes with clumsy fingers.

"i am going to get help," he kisses jaehwan gently.

he didn't need to look at the fire again to know it was uncontrollable. if he didn't stop it, he could lose jaehwan forever.

 

❀❀❀

 

running to the village was almost a blur, he had run as fast as he could, screaming for help until suddenly he was there; the rest of the villagers crowding around him at the commotion. his voice was raw with panic as he begged for their help and many agreed, quickly grabbing any buckets and pots and vessels they could find without a question, and sanghyuk wanted to fall at their feet in thanks.

they made quick work of running back and forth from the forest to the village, pouring water onto the monster quickly eating its way through the trees. it almost seemed futile but sanghyuk knew he had to try.

it was when the villagers had started to grow tired and leave the forest that it started to rain, as if by pure luck, as if some godly entity was looking down upon them. soon the blaze had become a smoulder, and only he and jaehwan were left in the eery silence.

whatever was left of the forest was saved, but only time could heal the damage now.

sanghyuk dropped to knees jaehwan's side, gathering the other up in his embrace again, and he knew it was going to be alright when he felt jaehwan's warmth seep through the ice in his blood.

"i will protect you and this forest until the day i die," sanghyuk whispers, voice thick with emotion, "i love you."

jaehwan's arms tighten around him, wetness starting to pool along his collarbone, "you do not know how long i have waited."

"f-for what?"

"for someone to save me."

 

❀❀❀  


 

the only hard goodbye sanghyuk has experienced was when he left his family to go his own way, and he'd never thought he'd have to experience it again. especially not like this. jaehwan needed to stay in the forest and heal with it, nurture it back to health, to be its protector once more. good bye: sanghyuk couldn't say the words, as if saying them meant he really would never see jaehwan again.

he can't even look up as jaehwan leaves his embrace, his voice the softest whisper of a summer breeze. "until we meet again, sanghyuk-ah."

and soon sanghyuk was left with soot in his lungs and a heavy heart. alone once more.

 

❀❀❀


	3. epilogue: 신비로워

it's been several years since the fire, and sanghyuk had come back every day, to the very same peach tree where it all began. the forest is lush with greenery and fauna once more, astounding in its beauty.

he sits under it again to escape the sun's harsh glare, looking out at the calm horizon. he closes his eyes and allows the lethargy in his limbs to take over, only to be startled out of it by a thud beside him.

a peach.

its skin was perfect and rosy and smooth, looking plump and juicy and far too good to be true. he reaches out to take it, only to have a hand block his way. sanghyuk's heart beats like a frightened animal in his chest, stutters. something like hope is blooming from deep inside him.

he looks up with bated breath, and jaehwan is smiling back at him.

 

❀❀❀

**Author's Note:**

> * based on the 도원경 music video and these tweets [[x](https://twitter.com/jyanies/status/862727527248388096)] [[x](https://twitter.com/jyanies/status/869000772310138880)]  
> * this brings sokka's 'my girlfriend turned into the moon' onto a whole new level  
> * you can also find and talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/jeodoboleo) and [tumblr](http://www.jeodoboleo.tumblr.com/)!~  
> * comments (and kudos) are appreciated and encourage me to post more! ♡♡♡


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